As Filipino Catholics observed Palm Sunday on April 13 to mark the beginning of Holy Week, a total of 114,365 individuals were recorded by the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in various sea ports nationwide.
From 6 a.m. to 12 noon, the PCG logged 59,912 outbound passengers and 54,453 inbound passengers, many of them going to their home provinces for the Holy Week break.
The PCG deployed 4,042 frontline personnel in 16 Coast Guard districts nationwide to ensure the safe and convenient travel of commuters.
The frontline personnel inspected a total of 3,396 vessels and 958 motorboats so far. No violation was reported as of writing.
At the Manila North Harbor Port, one of the busiest ports in the country, the situation remains normal, according to the PCG.
A passenger vessel, MV St. Michael the Archangel arrived at the port around 11:30 a.m. carrying 414 passengers from Bacolod and Iloilo.
The ship was scheduled to leave later within the day en route to Davao, General Santos City, Iloilo, Dumaguete, Dipolog, and Zamboanga.
The management of Manila North Harbor Port assured the public that there were sufficient vessels to accommodate the travelling public.
The PCG placed its districts, stations, and sub-stations on heightened alert from April 13 to 20 to manage the influx of port passengers.